Forest Service Road 24 staircase

ROAD TO STAIRCASE TO CLOSE FRIDAY


Due to safety concerns for Olympic National Forest visitors, Forest Service Road 24 is scheduled to close to all motorized vehicle access beginning Friday. The road is the main access point for the Staircase area of Olympic National Park. The gated closure, located just beyond the Mt. Rose subdivision, began as a precaution following the 2006 Bear Gulch II fire which burned approximately 1200 acres directly above the road. This safety measure is necessary to prevent injury to the public from rock and debris slides expected throughout the rainy winter season. Due to the steep topography, this section of road sometimes experiences debris and rock slides during the winter months, requiring routine cleanup and maintenance. However, the fire increased the amount of debris significantly, as storms from last winter caused so much debris to cover the road that repairs took until the end of June to complete. An assessment team will continue to evaluate conditions, monitor slope stability and track debris accumulations to determine the level of winter access in the future. The Forest Service will announce a scheduled opening date in the spring when risk levels return to normal and debris removal and maintenance can begin.

Forest Service Road 24 staircase

ROAD TO STAIRCASE TO CLOSE FRIDAY


Due to safety concerns for Olympic National Forest visitors, Forest Service Road 24 is scheduled to close to all motorized vehicle access beginning Friday. The road is the main access point for the Staircase area of Olympic National Park. The gated closure, located just beyond the Mt. Rose subdivision, began as a precaution following the 2006 Bear Gulch II fire which burned approximately 1200 acres directly above the road. This safety measure is necessary to prevent injury to the public from rock and debris slides expected throughout the rainy winter season. Due to the steep topography, this section of road sometimes experiences debris and rock slides during the winter months, requiring routine cleanup and maintenance. However, the fire increased the amount of debris significantly, as storms from last winter caused so much debris to cover the road that repairs took until the end of June to complete. An assessment team will continue to evaluate conditions, monitor slope stability and track debris accumulations to determine the level of winter access in the future. The Forest Service will announce a scheduled opening date in the spring when risk levels return to normal and debris removal and maintenance can begin.

mushrooms, wine

got ten pounds of chantrelles today. i have to pick one handed and can not cut the stems so both daughters helped while hubby slept on the moss. We were too late to get any matsutake this year so the tradition of steamed matsutake as the starting thanksgiving dish will not happen this year. took my family to the overlook half way up ellinor and we basked in the sun for quite awhile. my broken wrist hurt a lot going down the bumpy dirt road on mount ellinor. i wanted to walk down to big creek campground and have my husband meet me there but thought better of it. fall is my favorite hiking season.

my left sprained wrist feels quite a bit better today, i still can not open tight lids with my left hand but i think i have about 75% of my wrist function back. maybe in a couple more weeks i will be able to use a trekking pole with a wrist brace.

i will dehydrate most of the mushrooms for later use.

i have 1 gallon each of blueberry and rose petal wine fermenting away in my bedroom. Today i am making hard cider from apples picked in the vacant lot behind my house. wine making can be really easy just be sure to use a sterile technique. i am using bakers yeast this year because i don't like a really high alcohol content. things are not as sterile as i would like thanks to working first while manic and now with only one hand. i think my brews will be ok though. the only ingredienrts i am using are the fruit / petals, boiled syrup (sugar and water), bakers yeast, lemon juice and campten tablets. i have two glass jugs with airlocks. i want another glass jug but for now the cider is in a plastic jug that apple juice came in and the lid is the original lid just a little bit loose to keep the pressere down. the cider is just starting to turn and i love that taste. i am making fruit leather with the must. i only let the must ferment for 1.5 days so it tastes like apple sauce with just a little kick. YUMMY! i like to add quince to apple sauce but have none it adds a little zip to apple sauce too but is not alcoholic.

dvr plate pictures of my bionic wrist

i bet those calluses will be gone before i can ride my bike again


Had my first post-op visit today. the splint is off, replaced with a bright orange fore arm cast for Halloween. cast will stay on for 3 weeks, much more comfortable then giant splint that bruised the back of my hand. stitches were taken out about 5-8 stitches on the out side. sprained left wrist is healing slowly, typing one fingered with left middle finger.

Went to lake sylvia state park , had a beautiful 2 mile stroll around the lake. hubby promised to drive me to a matsutake hunting spot next week. found 3 chantereles at sylvia.


bummed that i will miss king bolete hunting, have to do it at the crack of dawn to beat the crowds and hubby will not get up that early.





my unbroken left wrist




broken lunate fossa with volar displacement, see how wide the gap is?




10 days post-op dvr plate



dvr plate

pictures

just uploaded pictures from my last hike. having my first post-op visit tomorrow, hope to ditch this heavy arm splint. fingers still blue/green from surgical germ killer. looking forward to bending my elbow. will be sent home in a short arm splint i think.